US plans to establish presence in Damascus airbase to monitor Syria-Israel security pact – report

The U.S. military is preparing to establish a permanent presence at an airbase in the area of Damascus, Syria, Reuters reported, ahead of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's scheduled visit to the White House next week.

The establishment of a military base could help facilitate the security pact between Syria and Israel that is reportedly close to being signed, and is also a clear signal of Syria joining the U.S.-led regional alliance, after it was part of the Iranian sphere of influence under the Assad regime.

Six sources, including two Western officials and a Syrian defense official, told Reuters that the U.S. plans to use the base to supervise the potential Israel-Syria agreement, reminiscent of similar deployments in Lebanon and near the Gaza border.

The U.S. Pentagon declined to confirm the report, while the Syrian state news agency SANA said it was “false.”

The report did not specify which base would be used; however, Syrian social media accounts speculated that it could be Mezzeh Air Base in southwestern Damascus, which is only some 40 km (26 miles) from the Israeli border.

Other sources speculated the U.S. presence could be established at Dumayr Air Base, located approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Damascus, according to the Foundation for Freedom of Democracies’ "Long War Journal."

Reports suggest that a Syria-Israel security pact may soon be signed and announced while Sharaa is visiting the United States.

Ahead of his visit, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani confirmed that an announcement regarding his country’s entry into the anti-ISIS coalition is forthcoming.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council approved a U.S. resolution to remove Shaara and his interior minister, Anas Khattab, from a terrorism sanctions list.

The U.S. canceled a $10 million bounty on Shaara last December and, in July, the State Department revoked the terrorist designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel alliance that he led as it overthrew the Assad regime at the end of 2024.

The security arrangement with Israel is expected to involve the withdrawal of the IDF troops from most of the former demilitarized zone (DMZ) from the 1974 ceasefire agreement, which is likely to be revived in a new form.

Israel reportedly wants to extend the buffer zone by several kilometers and is demanding security guarantees for the Druze minority in the Suwayda Governorate.

The new deployment could mirror similar arrangements along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Gaza.

In Lebanon, the U.S. is the leading party of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which also includes representatives from France and the United Nations.

The U.S. military also set up a base in southern Israel, where a group of international observers is monitoring the ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Pentagon has already dispatched reconnaissance missions to the new base in Syria and conducted test landings using C-130 military transport aircraft. Syrian military sources told Reuters that the facility will be used for logistics, surveillance, refueling, and humanitarian operations, while Syria will retain full sovereignty over the site.

American troops remain stationed in the Kurdish areas of northeastern Syria, but recently announced their number would be reduced to approximately 1,000.